UKIP spokesperson revealed as head of kidnapping gang

Mujeeb ur Rehman Bhutto was jailed for seven years for the £56,000 ransom plot.

Bhutto, 35, regularly appeared on TV as the party’s Commonwealth spokesman. But Ukip chiefs yesterday tried to distance themselves from him, insisting he had resigned after being confronted by officials.

West Yorkshire-based Bhutto had a prominent party role, organising a visit to a mosque for leader Nigel Farage, right, and canvassing in a key election to appoint a Ukip MP.

“When we recently became aware of possible issues relating to his past and raised the matter with him, he resigned his membership”

A UKIP spokesperson

The scandal is the latest blow for Mr Farage, 49, following a string of gaffes by his party’s politicians. It comes after Ukip councillor David Silvester claimed the current floods were God’s revenge for David Cameron allowing gay marriages.